# The cliché of insulting a guy online by accusing him of posting from his mom's basement

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cliche-of-insulting-a-guy-online-by-accusing-him-of-posting-from-his-moms-basement/605053>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [December 4, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cliche-of-insulting-a-guy-online-by-accusing-him-of-posting-from-his-moms-basement/605053 "2011-12-04T20:56:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cliche-of-insulting-a-guy-online-by-accusing-him-of-posting-from-his-moms-basement/605053/1 "2011-12-04T20:56:31Z")

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Is it less respectable for a grown man to be living in his mom’s basement than in his dad’s basement? Or a basement belonging to both parents?

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**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cliche-of-insulting-a-guy-online-by-accusing-him-of-posting-from-his-moms-basement/605053/2 "2011-12-04T22:18:23Z")

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Dads do not have basements. It’s a fact.

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**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2011, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cliche-of-insulting-a-guy-online-by-accusing-him-of-posting-from-his-moms-basement/605053/3 "2011-12-04T22:29:20Z")

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“Mommy’s boy” carries more of a sting than “Daddy’s boy” (which has a different, faintly creepy overtone.)

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cliche-of-insulting-a-guy-online-by-accusing-him-of-posting-from-his-moms-basement/605053/4 "2011-12-05T04:17:19Z")

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Yes it’s a stereotype, but based on personal experience it’s FAR more likely for a single mother (widowed, divorced or otherwise) to tolerate an adult man-boy living in her house for an extended period of time well into his adulthood vs a married couple or single dad. At a certain point if it continues for an extended period of time it is a fairly accurate marker for non-ambitious slackers.